You never know what to expect when you attend a new yoga class with a new teacher for the first time. When you’ve been told that this particular teacher is in his 80s, what do you expect from the class then? When I walked into the long, narrow space that is the Granary in Washington Arts Centre, I looked around for Gordon Austin. He was expecting me, but I couldn’t see anyone in their 80s. The lady rolling out her mat next to mine pointed him out to me. Except that couldn’t be him, surely. This man was in his 60s at most. There must be some mistake.
But yes, you’ve guessed it, this was Gordon Austin. There was no mistake. He took us through an hour and a half of stretches and forward bends and warrior poses – the full works, a full Iyengar workout. He demonstrated where necessary, explained clearly exactly what we were doing and why we were doing it. He recommended the appropriate props to use and the adjustments for different body types. The moment when Gordon explained that it is those who are the least flexible who work the hardest in a class, not those who achieve each pose with ease, was a special moment for me. I struggle with flexibility – or lack of – particularly in my lower back. With all his years of experience, Gordon Austin felt like a safe pair of hands. His own body was a testament to that fact. As was the fact that the class was full and many members of the class had been regulars for many years.
Gordon Austin is 85 years old. He has been practising yoga for the last 40 years. Together with his wife Margaret, he founded the North East Institute of Iyengar Yoga. 40 years ago, yoga was not as prevalent in the UK as it is today. Very few men practised yoga. So what was Gordon’s first experience of yoga?
It was my wife Margaret who took me along to a yoga class back in 1977. I can still remember that first class. It was all women and I felt so uncomfortable, I nearly walked out. And I wasn’t flexible at all. I was super fit at the time, a semi professional footballer. I was training all the time, but on a muscular level, I was so stiff. My wife made me stick with it. She was a natural. I saw such a huge change in her. She became supremely fit and strong. She’s one of only a few Senior/ Senior Iyengar teachers in the UK, personally accredited by Mr. Iyengar.
Gordon later discovered that his uncle had discovered and practised yoga whilst serving with the RAF in India many years earlier. He would have been delighted to find that his nephew had started a yoga practice of his own, but unfortunately, he had already passed away by that stage.
Margaret went first to India in the late 70’s. In the early 80’s, Gordon and his wife set off for Pune in India for a month’s intensive Iyengar Yoga course with the master himself, BKS Iyengar. It was intensive training and Gordon lost half a stone while he was there! But Gordon wouldn’t have missed this opportunity to learn from BKS Iyengar himself.
BKS Iyengar was an absolute genius. We were in awe of him. He was a very demanding teacher, but a great teacher. When violinist Yehudi Menuhin was asked who his best music teacher had been, his response was ‘BKS Iyengar’. It was a real privilege to get to know Mr Iyengar. We became friends. When he came over for the Convention at Crystal Palace at 1993 and I was Chair of IYA(UK), we stayed in the same hotel and spent some precious time together. And after that initial visit to Pune, I went back half a dozen times after that. Margaret went more often than me.
Gordon Austin is passionate about Iyengar Yoga. At 85, he believes he’s more mobile now than when he was a semi professional footballer. He believes he would have been a better footballer if he’d discovered the benefits of yoga earlier. He’s so glad that footballers have the opportunity to practise yoga now.
I’m totally biased of course, but it seems to me that Iyengar Yoga is becoming more and more popular in the UK. It’s growing in stature. There’s a respect for Iyengar Yoga because it is professional and disciplined. It made me move better. It made me more mobile. It has definitely been the best way for me.
Gordon is physically and mentally disciplined. He’s still a fitness fanatic with a yoga room in his home with props, ropes and mirrors. He has a FitBit and makes sure he walks his 10,000 steps a day. He’s mentally active too. A member of MENSA, he does crosswords and puzzles every day. He believes that this mental and physical training is what keeps him healthy and alert.
He meets up every week with a gang of old friends from his footballing days. He believes in persuading people into yoga gently and now he’s delighted that four or five of these friends come along to his Wednesday class. Most of Gordon’s male friends in that class are over 70. And there are more men than women. He keeps busy delivering classes every week – sometimes with his wife Margaret and sometimes alone. Together, they deliver teacher training. They’re invited to Dublin every year to teach Iyengar Yoga workshops. Gordon ran an Iyengar teacher training course there.
Gordon Austin is astonishing. It’s always such an encouragement to hear of people still practising yoga in later life, but Gordon is not just still practising, he is still teaching and training teachers. He is still inspiring others about Iyengar Yoga.
If you need convincing about the power of yoga for healthy ageing, then attend one of Gordon’s classes!